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It had been a long time since a cell phone left me speechless. So I went to China to test the Honor Magic8 Pro camera

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If you asked someone from HONOR how they were going to improve the camera on their phones next year, the answer they would give you is that you hold the telephoto. A few weeks ago I was traveling to China to see first-hand the factory and the R&D laboratory from which the HONOR Magic8 Proa terminal that bets (almost) everything on the camera. And what a camera. Just stroll through the busy streets of Shenzhen or sit and enjoy the sunset in Hong Kong to discover that yes, HONOR has been working hard on its camera. I can’t talk about specifications, yet, but I can confirm that we have a wide angle, an angle and a periscopic zoom which is, without a doubt, the main protagonist. So much so that I ended up using it more than the main sensor for obvious reasons. That zoom was enjoyable A quality optical zoom not only makes the photo “look sharper”, but also gives a lot of play. The perspective we get with the telephoto cannot be achieved with a normal zoom (cropping of the sensor), since it is by using a longer focal length that we get that “compression effect” of the shots. Let’s say that the distance between two objects in different planes of the scene is reduced, something that is very useful in urban photography and allows us to achieve things like this. Photograph taken with the HONOR Magic8 Pro | Image: Xataka But let’s start at the beginning. Little can be said about the main sensor. It is a sensor that HONOR has clearly mastered and whose results speak for themselves. Good control of highlights and shadows, notable HDR work and faithful color representation, although some background work is noticeable to highlight the strongest colors. In this case, green. Photograph taken with the HONOR Magic8 Pro | Image: Xataka Photograph taken with the HONOR Magic8 Pro | Image: Xataka Photograph taken with the HONOR Magic8 Pro | Image: Xataka At night, the sensor knows how to surprise. It is no secret that there is a treatment for shadows and noise, but The result is one of the best I have seen to date.. These photos are really complex because you have fine details in highlights and huge contrast. The terminal resolves photos well, preserving detail, eliminating noise almost completely and keeping glare at bay. Photograph taken with the HONOR Magic8 Pro | Image: Xataka In this image we have to look not only at the enormous tubular building on the left, but also at its reflection in the next building. It is not a pastiche of lights without rhyme or reason, but the camera manages to perfectly capture the reflection without burning either the background or the building. Also notable is the definition not only of the lines of light, but of the light bulbs themselves hanging from the trees and the texts of the distant blocks. Photograph taken with the HONOR Magic8 Pro | Image: Xataka I liked it a lot during the day, but it’s at night when it really conquered me. If you told me 15 years ago that a gadget I carried in my pocket was going to allow me to take this photo, I probably wouldn’t have believed you. HONOR has done an excellent job not only in the camera, but in the processing. This image would be impossible to take freehand if there were not good stabilization, a good sensor and good background processing. Photograph taken with the HONOR Magic8 Pro | Image: Xataka But if this camera surprises, the telephoto is another story. The HONOR Magic8 Pro has a periscope with 3.7x optical magnification that we can digitally expand up to ten and 100x. The sweet spot, however, is x3.7. Because? Because we can get closer to the subject taking advantage of the full resolution of the sensor and take photos like these, I hope you are not hungry. Photograph taken with the HONOR Magic8 Pro | Image: Xataka Photograph taken with the HONOR Magic8 Pro | Image: Xataka In these photos you can perfectly see what I mentioned previously. Without an optical zoom we would not be able to achieve a blur as silky as this image. You don’t have to rely on portrait mode to crop your subject and blur the background, but you can achieve a superior effect by simply moving away from your subject and using the zoom. If you add a large, high-resolution sensor to that, you get a photo with exquisite textures. Photograph taken with the HONOR Magic8 Pro | Image: Xataka Photograph taken with the HONOR Magic8 Pro | Image: Xataka If we talk about urban photography, this periscope allows us to get closer to the scene and frame in ways that, normally, we could not achieve, either because it does not have a telephoto (something strange in the high range) or because the resolution of the sensor is not up to par. Photograph taken with the HONOR Magic8 Pro | Image: Xataka Photograph taken with the HONOR Magic8 Pro | Image: Xataka Photograph taken with the HONOR Magic8 Pro | Image: Xataka It also allows us to see things that we can only intuit with the naked eye. The advantage of having this resolution is that, even when cropping by zooming to 10x, we can achieve good results. Photograph taken with the HONOR Magic8 Pro | Image: Xataka Photograph taken with the HONOR Magic8 Pro | Image: Xataka The best thing is that the quality of the photos is preserved even when light is scarce. Normally, it is taking photos at night when I least enjoy testing a mobile phone. It is the most complex moment and where the seams are usually seen by the cameras. The HONOR Magic8 Pro is not exempt from those seams by any means, but the work that the Chinese firm has done is sensational. Photograph taken with the HONOR Magic8 Pro | Image: Xataka Photograph taken with … Read more

This is the mobile phone that brings them back with a BlackBerry scent

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From time to time, technology allows itself to doubt itself. In 2026 it does so by recovering elements that many considered amortized, such as the physical keyboard or the headphone jack. It is not a gratuitous gesture nor a simple nostalgic provocation. There are those who believe that we have made too many compromises in the name of screen and simplicity. To understand why this discussion is so striking today, we must go back to 2007, when the original iPhone marked a before and after in the way we understand the smartphone. In that scenario, Steve Jobs was very explicit when marking distances with devices like BlackBerry: “They all have keyboards that are there, regardless of whether you need them or not. And they all have fixed plastic control buttons, the same for any application.” The touch screen was not just a technical novelty, but a way to free up space and adapt the interface to each use. The screen won. Beyond the design, the triumph of the on-screen keyboard has to do with the daily experience. It does not require you to reserve a fixed space, it adapts to the language, the context and the type of text, and it has proven to be surprisingly effective. Even intensive users have ended up writing quickly on a touch surface, supported by automatic corrections and increasingly refined suggestions. The keyboard returns to the center of the design. In the case of Clicks Communicatorthe keyboard is not an addition or an accessory, but rather the starting point of the device. The company has opted for an Android phone with an integrated physical keyboard, accompanied by a 4.03-inch AMOLED screen designed to complement, not replace, writing. The terminal executes Android 16 and is supported by a functional technical sheet, with a 4,000 mAh battery, 50 MP main camera with optical stabilization, expandable storage via microSD and increasingly less common details such as the 3.5 mm jack. Clicks Communicator Beyond the hardware, Clicks tries to differentiate the Communicator by the way it is interacted with on a daily basis. The physical keyboard incorporates touch sensitivity to scroll through messages or pages without lifting your fingers, while a side button allows you to convert speech to text, start recordings or transcribe meetings. Added to this is a visual notification system using a configurable LED and a “message hub” that groups conversations from different applications on the same screen. The company itself frames it with a clear idea: “Designed to do things, not to surf the Internet.” Clicks Communicator The reversible option. Before launching its own phone, Clicks became known for its Clicks Keyboard Casea case that adds a physical QWERTY keyboard to the bottom of the phone, BlackBerry style. The idea is simple: keep your usual smartphone and add a keyboard when you need it, without making it a final decision. This case connects via USB-C, or Lightning in older models, and is available for several iPhones, including the iPhone 17 Pro, as well as some Androids such as the Google Pixel and the Motorola Razr. Clicks Keyboard Case (left), Clicks Power Keyboard (right) The third piece in the catalog aims at an intermediate point between both proposals. Clicks Power Keyboard It is a magnetic accessory presented at CES 2026 that adheres to the back of the phone and deploys only when you need to write. Unlike the traditional case, it does not replace the case nor is it permanently fixed. In addition, it works as a 2,150 mAh external battery and is compatible with MagSafe and Qi2, which extends its reach to a wide variety of iPhones and Android phones. Pros and cons. In the end, Clicks’ approach puts a very clear exchange on the table. Bringing back the physical keyboard means accepting smaller screens. Magnetic cases and keyboards allow you to explore that idea without definitive commitments, while the Communicator requires a more conscious commitment to another way of using your mobile. Price and availability. The Clicks Communicator can now be reserved with a promotional price of $399, compared to the usual $499, as long as the reservation is formalized before February 27. The company plans to begin shipments later this year, without a specific date for now. Spain is among the countries included in the European deployment, although the definitive deadlines will be specified when production enters its final phase. Images | Clicks In Xataka | Expensive and premium mobile phones are not a fad: they are the new standard, and Motorola knows it

While all cities are removing their last phone booths, Mexico City is putting them back

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The 21st century is that of smartphonesInternet, networks, 24/7 365 connectivity, virality and immediacy, a scenario in which telephone booths seem like an almost antediluvian vestige. Spain began to retire them a few years agoalthough many had been out of play for some time, vandalized, converted into little more than billboard posts. After all… Who wants a cabin when most of us walk around with a cell phone in our pockets? In Mexico you have the answer. In fact, the country is so convinced that booths make sense that it is installing hundreds and hundreds in its streets. What has happened? That Mexico is doing something (apparently) extemporaneous in the era of smartphonesInternet, social networks and permanent connectivity: the public company CFE Telecomunicaciones is installing hundreds of telephone booths. The diary Expansion talks about 848distributed mainly in the southeast of the country, in states such as Veracruz, Oaxaca and Chiapas. It’s actually nothing surprising. In February 2024 CFE already announced their plans to “roll out” telephone booths throughout the country. But… Why? Because even though in 2026 the smartphones have become masters and lords of our pockets, not everyone has one, nor does they feel comfortable handling them. With the cabins CFE wants precisely that: to close the “generational or digital gap” in the country and “guarantee the connection” of the entire population. Hence, telephone poles are being installed especially in rural areas after reaching agreements with local authorities. “The project adds an alternative to guarantee the connection of the population who, due to the generational or digital divide, may see their communication with their loved ones affected,” claims the company. The idea, precise The Countryis that the phones can be accessed at no cost and the devices also offer an Internet connection and the possibility of making calls outside of Mexico, to the US or Canada. On your website CFE recalls that the project is carried out with “institutional linkage” and agreements with local administrations. And how many cabins are there? That is one of the most curious details of the initiative. And also those who have given the most talk. Expansion assures that CFE Telecomunicaciones has installed at least 848 booths, especially in the southeast, but the same media recalls that throughout Mexico there are still thousands of the old booths that people went to years ago, before cell phones and WhatsApp radically changed our way of communicating. Are they all the same? According to the Federal Telecommunications Institute, in December there were still 580,199 cabinsa considerable number, although they represent 10.6% less than in 2019. The majority are in the hands of Telmex, although the firm BBG Comunicación is also present in the market. This inheritance has not been without controversy, especially due to the state of some booths. Not long ago the Congress of Mexico City proposed withdrawal and dismantling cabins that are disused, abandoned or obsolete. The reason: from being key pieces for communication, they have become annoying obstacles that hinder pedestrian crossing and generate a bad image. It may seem exaggerated, but according to authorities’ calculationsin the country there are thousands of population centers that still have “public telephony” and most of their facilities “no longer function correctly.” Many of the booths are not removed despite being obsolete because prevents it an agreement from the 90s. Do you all agree? Although the country seems determined To find a way to end the digital divide, not everyone considers that the installation of new booths in rural areas will be the solution. This is what Jorge Bravo, for example, from the Mexican Association of the Right to Information warns (Amedi), who warns that the booths are part of an anachronistic connectivity model. “There are no clear criteria for the installation of these cabins. Although I have observed some in good condition, I have never seen people using the service,” he says. Images | Honorable Municipal Council of Silacayoápam (Facebook) and Mateusz D (Unsplash) In Xataka | Americans have been devouring pizza for generations. Now they are changing them for something else: Mexican food

To take photos, I am clear about which phone I would buy right now. A high-end that does not increase too much in price

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I have never been a big lover of photography because until a few years ago it had not really caught my attention. But I have been experimenting little by little and Nowadays on a mobile I prefer to prioritize this section before even the power. Although in some cases good power and good photography go hand in hand in the high range, there are times when this is not the case. Here, for color tastes. But me right now I don’t even remotely take advantage of the power that this type of mobile provides.so if I buy one right now I am clear that I would bet on the Google Pixel 10. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links A mobile phone with a great photographic section For many years I have played mobile games that were quite demanding. Currently, I only play one or two games very occasionally and they usually require quite low performance or power, as is the case of the Solitaire or, to a lesser extent, ‘Balatro‘. On the other hand, what I am taking advantage of right now is the photographic section of the Xiaomi 14T. I quite like to play with the options offered by the cameras signed by Leicaso it is clearer than water that the next mobile phone I would buy right now is Google’s. He Google Pixel 10like the rest of the brand’s models, has the particularity of having as a base the Google app. Yes, this can be adapted with the GCam in other mobile phones, but to this we must add excellent processing and a five-fold telephoto. The photographic section, focusing on the camera module, is made up of a 50 MP wide-angle sensor, a 13 MP ultra-wide angle sensor and a 10.8 MP telephoto sensor. It is also worth mentioning that it comes with Camera Coachwhich for those less versed in the subject may be attractive to receive recommendations through artificial intelligence. You may also be interested Spigen Ultra Hybrid MagFit Case for Google Pixel 10/10 Pro Compatible with Pixelsnap and MagSafe – Clear White The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Spigen Glas.tR EZ Fit Optik Camera Protector for Google Pixel 10, 2 Units, Transparent, Crystal Clear, Full Coverage, Installation Kit, 9H Hardness, Anti-Scratch The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Images | Pepu RiccaGoogle In Xataka | The best mobile phones (2025), we have tested them and here are their analyzes In Xataka | The best quality-price mobiles (2025). Their analyzes and videos are here

Samsung’s top mobile phone is the Galaxy S25 Ultra. Now, you can get it with 512 GB and a discount of more than 500 euros

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If you have decided to end the year by renewing your old mobile phone and have thought about a high-end one, this Amazon offer is for you. Now, you can buy Samsung’s top mobile phone, the Galaxy S25 Ultrain its 512 GB per configuration 999 euros. Although, if you want to do without a little memory, the 256 GB model is available at El Corte Inglés with the Galaxy Buds3 Pro headphones for 999.90 euros. Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra 512GB The price could vary. We earn commission from these links A top mobile at an unbeatable price Although it is true that this Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra It is not a mobile phone with many new features, it does present some improvements compared to its predecessor. One of those most significant improvements is its 6.9-inch anti-glare screen with Quad HD+ resolution. The processor it mounts is the Snapdragon 8 Elitewith 12 GB of RAM and an internal storage capacity of 512 GB. As for its battery, it supports fast charging and wireless and the autonomy it offers is a day and a half or two days. Its operating system allows updates for seven years and it is a mobile phone full of Artificial intelligence. Another thing it stands out for is its photography section. Mount a triple rear camera with a 200 MP main sensora 10 MP telephoto lens, a 50 MP telephoto lens and a 50 MP ultra wide angle lens. Some accessories that may interest you for this mobile JETech 5 in 1 Case for Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra 5G with 2 Screen Protectors The price could vary. We earn commission from these links JBL Wave Flex 2, Wireless Headphones The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Images | Ricardo Aguilar (Xataka) and Samsung In Xataka | Best Samsung phones: which one to buy and recommended models based on budget, tastes and price quality In Xataka | The best mobile phones, we have tested them and here are their analyzes

In 1969, humans set foot on the Moon for the first time. He did it thanks to a computer less powerful than your cell phone

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The arrival to the Moon It was one of the scientific and technological milestones most notable of the 20th century and something that remained in those who lived and in those who did not thanks to the images and audios. Something that happened more than 40 years ago, when there were still many technological revolutions to come, such as personal computers or mobile phones. What technologies made it possible for humans to reach the Moon? Something that is already fascinating in itself, but it is even more so if you know the details of the computers, cameras and other devices that were used in the mission, taking into account their characteristics. What technology made it possible for three human beings they reached the moonWould they walk around and tell us in the meantime? We travel in time and space to review. like matryoshkas The Apollo 11 mission was the eleventh of a NASA program that had a total of 22 missions (19 of them being successful), in the 1960s until 1972. Until mission 7 the launches were unmanned and mission 8 was the first to orbit the Moon, but for all of them a Saturn rocket launcher was used. The one for Apollo 11 was the Saturn V, a rocket 110.64 meters high and weighing 2,700 tons with a tank full of fuel (the largest NASA has ever built). Depending on the stage (there were three, S-IC, S-II and S-IVB) the number of engines varied and so did the fuel, which were mixtures of oxygen, kerosene or liquid hydrogen. But the Saturn V was not the one that reached the Moon, but rather the one that went out into space and directed the modules towards it. These modules were the command and service (CM) and the lunar (LEM); The CM contained the engine of the propulsion system that was responsible for entering and leaving lunar orbit and had space for three astronauts, and the LEM was the first ship designed to be able to fly in a vacuum, without aerodynamic capacity. (POT) The LEM separated from the CM as it entered the orbit of the Moon and descended to its surface. It was designed to land only on the Moon since the legs were so weak that they would not support the weight of the LEM in Earth’s gravity (9.8 m/s² versus 1.6 m/s² on the Moon). There was room here for only two astronauts. The speeds that were reached (increasing upon entering the gravitational field of the Moon) were 3,700 kilometers per hour and up to 9,000 km/h due to lunar gravity. And here comes a question: how is it possible to brake at those speeds? To enter lunar orbit, hypergolic braking was used (using hydrazine, dimethylhydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide, hypergolic compounds – which explode without a heat source) and engine shutdown. The computers of the Apollo 11 mission To review the computing involved in the Apollo 11 mission, we must take into account the emission and reception, that is, what was on the ground and what the aircraft carried. And it is also worth remembering that at the time a computer was far from being something domestic or common, or from fitting on a desk. On Earth, in the Goddard Space Flight Center and the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, worked with the IBM System/360 75 mainfream, which (along with the 44, 91, 95 and 195) was implemented with hardwired logic instead of microcode like all other IBM S/360 models. For the curious techieshere a configuration diagram and explanation of the team. In the ships, however, the Apollo Guiding Computer (AGC), manufactured by Raytheon and designed by the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory. This team stood out for being one of the first to use integrated circuits. There was one in the LEM and another in the CM. The specifications of these teams are surprising not because the numbers are smaller compared to the current ones, but because even making the effort to place our minds in the 1960s, it is impressive to see that teams like this managed to carry out something as complex as a round trip to the Moon. The AGC had storage of 36,864 14-bit words and RAM of 2,048 words. (POT) Comparing it with later equipment, more or less between the two AGCs they have approximately the same memory as what a Commodore-64 (from 1982) had, but it was about eight times less powerful than an IBM XT (from 1981, which was 4.77 MHz compared to 0.043 MHz for the AGC). In fact, a computer with half a GB of RAM has 100,000 times more memory than AGC. But computers do not live on hardware alone, and software here has considerable weight. 300 people participated in its creation over seven years, at an approximate cost of 46 million dollars (at the time). Among them was Allan Klumpp, a mechanical engineer at MIT whose proposal for landing on the Moon reflects all calculations as well as diagrams and drawings of the situation on the dashboard. The program was called LUMINARY and was written in MAC programming language (MIT Algebraic Compiler), but no terminal or compilation programs, this was done with some punched cards which were prepared with a kind of typewriter (and if a hole was made wrong, a new one had to be made). On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the famous achievement, it was transcribed the code of both modules (transcribing it), where we read that Klumpp said that this was never exempt from bugs. What is notable here is the multitaskgiven that the fact that the software allowed it was already an achievement and that it was not easy for him to carry it out. In fact, there was some alarm due to the high demand on the computers as at the time of the moon landing, which resulted in a slow response and not with all the calculations, so there was one minute of the eleven that lasted the … Read more

avoid cell phone use and sleep 12 hours

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While in Silicon Valley they brag about hugging the culture of “996” with eternal days With no time to rest, Pavel Durov, co-founder and CEO of Telegram, has built a routine that clashes head-on with that model. Instead of living glued to your cell phone, opt for long hours of rest and phone use reduced to its minimum essential expression. All this taking into account that he runs an app with hundreds of millions of users around the world. Sleep as a tool for creativity Durov does not forgive time to go to sleep. The millionaire explained in an interview on Lex Friedman’s podcast that books every night between 11 and 12 hours to be in bed. That It doesn’t always mean you sleep. all those hours, but the founder of Telegram, instead of getting nervous and getting up when he can’t fall asleep, simply limits himself to staying in bed thinking. “Some people hate it. They tell me ‘Take a sleeping pill’ but I never take pills. I love those moments because I have so many brilliant ideas, or at least they seem that way to me in those moments, while I’m lying in bed,” said the stoic millionaire. In fact, the scientific literature corroborates what Durov says and associates it with a moment in which inactivity causes the brain to wandera moment in which the brain’s abstraction mechanisms are activated that are responsible for assimilating knowledge and relating concepts. This process is closely related to creativity as it fosters new connections by helping to find solutions to complex problems. It is the same process that explains why the best ideas or solutions they occur to you in the shower or when you wash the dishes. The mobile phone is not the center of life Another curious habit of the founder of Telegram is that he avoids picking up his cell phone at all costs. just get upand delay as much as possible entering the torrent of notificationsnetworks and messages, as a deliberate way of protect your concentration. Friedman himself confirmed this point, ensuring that in the previous two weeks that he had shared with the millionaire I hadn’t seen him use his cell phone. to share content on social networks or respond to messages. Durov considers that the telephone is, above all, a constant source of distractions that prevents people from developing their own ideas and decide for themselves what they pay attention to. “If you open your phone first thing in the morning, what you end up being is someone who is told what to think about for the rest of the day,” Durov said. The millionaire summarizes his position with a very clear phrase: “My philosophy is quite simple. I want to define what is important in my life. I don’t want other people, companies or organizations of all kinds to tell me what is important today and what I should think about.” Durov’s case is even more striking if his career is taken into account: before Telegram, he had already founded one of the largest social networks in Russia, and now he is in charge of one of the most used messaging services in the world. He himself recognizes that it may seem contradictory to promote products that encourage constant connection and, at the same time, opt for the minimum possible exposure to mobile phones in their personal life. In Xataka | There are big billionaires obsessed with having dozens of children. And then there is the CEO of Telegram, who has 100 Image | Flickr (TechCrunch)

ZTE already has a phone with an AI agent that does things for you, and it’s sold out

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Many technology enthusiasts have spent years imagining a future in which words are enough for the mobile phone to do the rest. Why open an application and navigate between menus if we can ask it out loud and that’s it? “Mark all messages as read”, “Order a car from my location”, “Open the discounts app and tell me what promotions I can use today”. In that ideal future, an agent should take care of everything without us touching the screen. Recent reality, however, has gone another way. Despite the visible rise of AI, interaction with mobile phones remains anchored in known dynamics. The most advanced version of Siri—the one Apple promised with agentic capabilities within Apple Intelligence— still not arrivingand the user experience has not changed substantially. In this context, ZTE has decided to take a step that until now no manufacturer had materialized: integrate a deep AI agent at the system level. The result is the Nubia M153. The mobile that turns agentic AI into its core. Far from being limited to accessory functions, the Nubia M153 is committed to real AI integration. According to Global Timesincorporates a preview version of Doubao Mobile Assistant, developed by ByteDance and ZTE. Although the assistant continues to be polished, it already demonstrates a striking ability to interact with applications and execute tasks that until now required user intervention. The demonstrations have gone viral. In X, un user shows how it is enough to ask him to hire someone to wait in line for him – a common activity in China – for the agent to execute the process. In another testa photo of a hotel is enough to reserve a room with the best available rate. The system identifies the establishment, opens the appropriate app and proceeds with the reservation. On Weibo, the scene is similar: “Order me three lattes and a Mixue ice cream,” says a young woman. The assistant gets going, asking for details when it needs them (size, sugar) and adding new tasks, such as finding the cheapest pizza service, buying movie tickets or converting photos into AI-generated images. An experiment that has exceeded expectations. The Nubia M153 is not a mass consumption mobile. It is only sold in China and in very limited quantities. According to SinaZTE launched about 30,000 units aimed mainly at users with a technical profile interested in testing new agentic capabilities, at a price of 3,499 yuan (about 425 euros at the exchange rate). Despite this reduced production, the device ran out a few hours after going on sale on December 1. Under the hood. IT Home details that The phone has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 with the Ultra label, 16 GB of RAM, 512 GB of storage and a 6.78-inch LTPO screen with a resolution of 1264 x 2800 pixels. Its camera system relies on three 50 MP sensors – main, wide angle and telephoto – and the design maintains a simple aesthetic, with a white back cover, black module and rounded edges. Are we ready for the agentic era? The launch also showed the first brakes. Shortly after the units reached users’ hands, several accounts of WeChat They started showing warnings of suspicious activity. The same thing happened on Alipay and Pinduoduo. Everything indicates that the assistant’s autonomous behavior activated automation protection mechanisms, designed to block usage patterns that do not fit with normal human activity. It is, in practice, the first pulse between new generation agents and the traditional platforms that dominate the Chinese digital ecosystem. Images | ZTE In Xataka | Almost all phones with optical zoom have the same problem. This Chinese brand believes it has solved it in a curious way

your next cell phone will be more expensive. It’s the AI’s fault

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“Prices are going to rise next year,” says Ma Zhiyu, Xiaomi’s marketing director. The reason is that there are components whose price is sky-high, and is expected to continue increasing. We talk about the NAND and DRAM memories, whose cost has skyrocketed due to the huge demand caused by AI data centers. Frightening. This is how Ma Zhiyu has described the storage prices expected for next year, as stated in IThome. The manager took to Weibo to comment on his impressions about the cost projections for next year. According to a recent report by Korea Economic DailySamsung and SK Hynix notified their customers that they would apply increases of up to 30% in NAND and DRAM memories in the fourth quarter of the year. Figures. According to the Taiwanese CTEE mediumthe price of DRAM memories has increased by 171% year-on-year, more than increases in the price of gold. Demand driven by AI boom, especially in DDR5 memory modules. To put it in context, a 16GB DDR5 module used to cost between $7 and $8, but since September it costs $13. As for NAND memories for SSDs and servers, the increase is estimated at 50%. Mobile phones too. The most affected products are those that require more memory, such as PCs and laptops, but Ma warns that it will affect any device that uses memory. This increase will also have an impact on mobile phones, especially those that have more storage such as the 512GB or 1TB versions. More memory, more expensive. In a post on Weibo, Sun Cun, product director at Redmiresponded to users who complained that they couldn’t afford the 12+512GB version. “We cannot change the trend of the global supply chain. Prices are going to rise next year,” he said. Furthermore, recently they announced a discount 300 yuan on the 512GB version of the Redmi K90 and warned that it could be the last chance to get such an offer. The bottomless pit of AI. The AI ​​race is about computing power, which means building many data centersand these data centers need many componentsincluding GPUs which, in turn, require enormous amounts of memory. The result: shortages, customers lining up to get memories and sky-high prices. It will get worse. The worst thing is that this has just begun, or so some experts predict. Tom’s Hardware publishes the statements of Chen Libai, CEO of ADATA, who believes that in 2026 the shortage will be even greater. It will still take a while to see the impact in stores and it will gradually spread, but it is a matter of time before the domino effect reaches us. If you are thinking of buying SSD, expanding the memory of your PC or changing your mobile phone, perhaps it is time to do so. Image | Samsung, Xataka In Xataka | Xiaomi 15 Ultra, analysis: a crazy night between a mobile phone and a compact camera

Realme seeks to make the mobile phone the best street camera. And it has joined the street camera brand par excellence

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Shenzhen and Beijing have two things in common: they are endless and both have been the perfect setting for two mobile presentations that have photography in the spotlight. He Vivo X300 Pro hit first, betting on a very long zoom to capture every last detail of the highest roof. The Realme GT8 Pro arrived later with a contrary argument: “Take me out on the street and start taking photos.”. Realme’s new high-end has been an open secret for weeks and I’ve already had it in my hands for a few days. But with one condition: I can’t talk about the phone, only its main camera. The reason? They have not presented the mobilebut an agreement with a striking camera brand: RICOH. And below I’ll tell you my first impressions of the Realme GT8 Pro camera. Technical specifications of the Realme GT8 Pro? Maybe they are the strangest first impressions I have ever made because… I can’t tell you about the cell phone. In fact, any detail is extremely generic: screen that occupies the entire front, an imitation of the Dynamic Island of the iPhone that Realme has been implementing for some time in its models and a design with flat sides. Photo: Xataka There was a rule: you cannot remove the case, you cannot remove the sticker that covers the camera module. Because I can’t, I can’t even tell you what hardware it has because the characteristics in ‘Settings’ are falsified. What I can tell you is that it has a periscopic telephoto, a wide angle and a main camera. And I’m going to get into it now because it is the jewel in the crown (beyond a power and battery that, if they follow in the wake of the Realme GT7 Prowill be rubbing shoulders with the best mobile phones of 2025). Realme GT8 Pro: a mobile phone made for the street “The collaboration with RICOH to create the Realme GT8 Pro goes beyond a union of brands.” Also about specifications: RICOH has overseen all aspects of the camera’s hardware and software. In the presentation of the agreement (because the mobile phone has not yet been officially presented), the Chinese company made it clear that the differentiating point of the new terminal is the main camera. Photo: Xataka It has a wide angle, it has a telephoto, it will surely mount the latest from Qualcomm, but the protagonist is the result of a very close collaboration between the Chinese and Japanese brands. Megapixels? Why do you want to know that (it’s not official). Focal? 23mm. Opening? 1.8. Does that matter? Not the slightest. Let me explain. Entering the Realme GT8 Pro camera app is like doing so in any mobile camera app: a carousel of options that are overwhelming in some cases and processing that feels excessive in some aspects. However, the secret is if we slide our finger down on the shutter button: this way we access the RICOH GR mode very, very quickly. Photo: Xataka To give some context, RICOH is a company that makes very compact cameras, ideal for street photography. They have specialized in fast focus cameras, silent shooting and ‘stealth’ modes to go unnoticed in the urban jungle. Also by 28 mm or 40 mm fixed focal lengths, depending on the model. Entering that GR mode directly activates the 28mmbut it is not a real focal length: it is a small cutout of the sensor to go from the native 23 mm to that RICOH-type focal length. It is not the only one: we also have a 40 mm (which would be a 1.8x crop of the sensor) and if we tap on the 28 mm and 40 mm icons, two more distances are added. That is, in practice the main camera is: 23mm in normal mode 28mm in GR mode 35mm in GR mode 40mm in GR mode 50mm, or 2x, in GR mode I imagine at least the 50mm or 2x will also be available in the regular camera app, but it wasn’t available on my test unit. As soon as you enter GR mode, the shutter changes to mimic that of a RICOH and the 28mm and 40mm crops are activated. Photo: Xataka The use is very intuitive and there are other things that change a lot in this GR mode. To start, the colors. We have several filters typical RICOH tonal variations. As in its day with Apple ringtones, It’s not about filters. In fact, from Realme they commented that “People are tired of filters that make all photos look the same”. What they have done is work with RICOH to apply their color science to photo processing. Auto mode. The defendant wants everything to look “good” in the photo. Photo: Xataka GR mode. More (coughs and fixes his bow tie) cinematic. Photo: Xataka Thus, there are tones that vary slightly, opting for a more bluish tone in elements such as shadows, but in addition the processing does not enhance the shadows to the extreme nor does it apply aggressive HDR (in normal mode, yes). And we have five default color profiles that are based on the technical characteristics that RICOH has set. GR mode profiles. Photo: Xataka Within each “color recipe”, we can create our own, modifying parameters such as tone, contrast, exposure or black level to create a unique profile that adapts to what we like. And they stay stored, something that I loved. Apart from the color profiles and focal lengths, the GR mode allows you to save in the usual JPG, JPG+RAW and RAW, but something else: modify the focus point to leave it fixed. Within each profile, we can customize parameters. Photo: Xataka We have several options here and, basically, it is about making the mobile even faster in its point & shoot function. A practical example: if I am shooting at everything in front of me, be it close-ups or panoramic shots, I can leave the focus on auto so that the phone … Read more

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